Nigerian Healthcare Workers Call for Retirement at 70

NIGERIA: Healthcare workers in the country have raised concerns about the critical shortage of manpower in the health sector and have urged the Federal Government to consider extending the retirement age to alleviate this issue.

Need for Increased Retirement Age

Stakeholders in the health sector propose extending the retirement age for consultants to 70 years and 65 years for other cadres, aligning with retirement ages in other sectors like education. They argue that retaining experienced professionals is crucial amid the ongoing brain drain affecting the sector.

Skilled health professionals continue to migrate to developed countries, citing reasons such as poor remuneration, rising insecurity, inadequate facilities, and challenging working conditions. This mass exodus leaves medical facilities struggling to maintain adequate staffing levels.

Calls for Policy Adjustment

The President of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, Prof Mohammad A. Mohammad, emphasizes the need to retain experienced professionals by increasing the retirement age. He notes that extending the retirement age would allow consultants to continue serving and training future generations of healthcare providers.

Dr Obinna Ogbonna, the immediate past National Chairman of the Joint Health Workers Union, highlights the importance of retaining older workers who are willing to continue serving. With younger health workers often using healthcare facilities as a stepping stone to migrate abroad, retaining experienced professionals becomes imperative to prevent a vacuum in the system.

Ensuring System Sustainability

Dr Kefas Wadi, Vice President II of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, emphasizes the necessity of an extended retirement age to ensure the sustainability of the healthcare system. Retaining experienced professionals is essential for maintaining the continuity of specialized medical training and addressing the turnover of specialists.

While the proposal to extend the retirement age for healthcare workers has yet to be considered, stakeholders stress its importance in addressing the challenges posed by the brain drain and ensuring the continued functioning of the healthcare system.

Efforts to address the manpower shortage in the health sector require comprehensive strategies, including policy adjustments to retain experienced professionals and attract new talent.